Local News

Chinese scholars, policy makers visit Morgan County

The visitors are seeking to replicate the CSU Extension program in China

By Paul Albani-BurgioFort Morgan Times staff writer

Posted:
06/26/2017 06:30:23 PM MDT

A scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences looks down at Quail Ridge Dairy's milk center during a tour of the dairy on Friday, (Paul Albani-Burgio / Fort Morgan Times)

Mary Kraft speaks to a group of scholars and policy makers from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences outside her family's dairy. (Paul Albani-Burgio / Fort Morgan Times)

Three scholars and policymakers from a leading Chinese university visited Morgan County's Quail Ridge Dairy Friday afternoon to learn how the CSU Extension program works with the dairy to support and advance production there.

The scholars and policymakers were touring the dairy as part of trip to Colorado that is intended to help them learn about the functioning and practices of the CSU Extension program in the state. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is looking into starting its own Extension program in China, where university-based Extension programs are uncommon. The representatives came to Colorado through a partnership between Chinese and American universities that includes CSU and is intended to promote such educational visits and other collaborations.

A group of scholars and academics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences looks down at the milk center at Quail Ridge Dairy while Quail Ridge owner Mary Kraft describes the milking process. (Paul Albani-Burgio / Fort Morgan Times)

"We are just trying to give them a nice picture of what Extension is and how it actually works on the ground in the counties," said CSU Extension Deputy Director Ashley Stokes, who accompanied the scholars and policymakers on their visit. "The population growth and food needs in China are tremendous so if they can have Extension services connected to their universities to help with that knowledge than they can really increase food production while decreasing impacts on the ecology."

Stokes said the visitors were particularly interested in learning about how CSU Extension is able to respond to the needs of individual producers as such locally-directed assistance is not a major part of the Chinese agriculture system.

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The tour concentrated on the milking center, where each of the dairy's roughly 6,000 cows is milked every day. Mary Kraft, who has owned and operated the Dairy with her husband Chris since they started it in 1988, explained how CSU Extension helped the dairy to design the center. In doing so, Quail Ridge worked with CSU Extension to create a milking system that would allow the cows to be milked in a more efficient manner.

"We used to have the eight guys in there running from one end of the pit to the other but now our system is much more efficient," Kraft said. "Nobody had helped us to develop a system until the university got involved and then helped us build it."

Quail Ridge also joined a dairy peer group sponsored by CSU Extension. Being in that peer group allowed Mary and Chris to visit dairies around the state in order to learn about technology and practices that could improve production at Quail Ridge.

"We had other people to talk to about what they were doing and to share ideas with," Kraft said. "For example, we used to use paper towels [in the center] and then we went to somebody's dairy and they were using cloth towels, which we had no idea you could use on that scale but we learned that they did and how they washed them and that it was better and incorporated that."

Kraft also explained how 4H, which she participated in as a child, encourages children to get involved with agriculture.

"We did vet science projects and horses and dairy cows and dog obedience," Kraft said. "The Extension service was the whole underpinning of that because they delivered all the educational material to kids to get them sort of interested in this,"

When one of the visitors asked about the degree to which there is competition for CSU Extension's resources and expertise, Kraft explained that the resources are open to everyone meaning that it is up to individual providers to make sure they are taking advantage of them. She said that she "squeaks a lot" to make sure her dairy is getting help and attention from Extension. To Kraft, the openness of Extension's resources to all producers is one of its greatest strengths.

"The great thing about Extension is even if you've got two cows out on the pasture that information and help from Extension is available and you can take advantage of it," Kraft said.

Stokes said the Extension system, Quail Ridge Dairy and Morgan County should all be proud that the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was looking to the Extension program and its activities in Morgan and other counties as a model.

"We have visitors from a lot of places that will come but this is such a unique opportunity to be able to share what all Extension does across Colorado with these scholars from China that are right in the middle of thinking about how they are going to meet the agriculture needs of their county," she said.

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